Electric switch.



PATBNTED MAR. 1o, 1908.

v G. GUTTER. ELECTRIC SWITCH.' APPLICATION 11111111 JUNE 13. 1906.

III! y SNI UNITED sTATEs GEORGE CUTTER, OF kSOUTH BEND, INDIANA.

ELECTRIC SWITCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed .Tune 13, 1906.

Patented March 10, 1908.

Serial No. 321,549.

rb all whom it may concern:

Be itl known that I, GEORGE CUTTER, a citizen of the United States,residing at South Bend, in the county of St. Joseph and State ofIndiana, have invented new and useful Improvements in Electric Switches,of which the fellowing is a specification.

' This invention relates to electrical switches and more particularly toindividual cut out switches for devices such as are lamps arranged inseries.

The invention has for an object to provide a construction which will besimple in Opera tion, inexpensive to manufacture, and not liable to getout of order.

Another object is to provide means which will prevent a switch blademaintaining` an intermediate position.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following descriptionand will be more particularly pointed out in the appended claims In thedrawings z-Figure 1 is a plan view showing the switch blade connectingthe line wire contacts. Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the switchand the insulator on which it is mounted, the switch blade being shownin section the view being taken on the line a-a of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is adetail view in perspective of one of the line wire contacts, and Fig. lis a detail view in perspective of one of the spring arms bearing on thecontact.

The switch while illustrated as applied to an arc lamp hanger, for whichI have made an application for Letters Patent, may also be employed forother purposes. Referring particularly to the drawings 1 indicates theinsulator of my application above mentioned and 2 the porcelain platesupported thereon. Journaled centrally through the insulator and theplate is a shaft 3 having a head f1 at its upper end provided with atransverse slot 5. In this slot is positioned a bladev 6 having its endsprojecting on opposite sides of the shaft 3 and provided with contactsleeves 7 surrounding the same and insulated therefrom by insulators 8.

The switch blade is movable so that its ends 7 lie upon a pair ofterminals or lamp contacts 9 secured to )late 2, or is movable so thatits contacts 7 lie upon a pair of line wire terminals or contacts 10.Each line wire terminal 10 is provided with an extension 11 which isbent upwardly from the terminal 10 and has a portion 12 overhanging theother line wire terminal and adapted to be engaged by sleeve 7 when thelatter is engaging the line wire terminal. Said eXtension 11 is alsoprovided with a portion 13 overhanging one of the terminals 9 andadapted to be engaged when the sleeve 7 engages the underlying contactor terminal 9. The portions 12 and 13 of each contact are slotted at 14so as to make a good contact with the sleeve 7, and are yieldingly heldagainst the said sleeve by a curved spring arm 15 which extends fromline wire contact at the point where said contact is secured to theporcelain plate 2. To limit the throw of the switch blade, I providelugs 16 on the plate 2, and adjacent each contact 9, also av stop 17 onone of the line wire terminals, said stop being held in place by thebolt '18 which also secures spring arm 15. It will thus be seen thatwhen the switch blade 6 is turned to connect the two line wire terminals10, the lamp or other device is cut out of circuit and the main circuitis not disturbed, the current passing from each line wire terminalthrough the sleeve contact 7 on the adjacent end of the blade 6, to theoverhanging portion of the line wire terminal.

When the switch blade 6 is turned so that each sleeve 7 rests upon oneof the contacts 9 the line wire contacts are, through the overhangingportions and sleeves 7, in circuit with the contacts 9, and thus thelamp or other device is cut into the circuit. Thus it will be seen thateach line wire contact has a contact portion common to the other linewire contact and to one of the lamp contacts. So that the switch bladecannot occupy a po* sition between the line wire contacts 10 and thelamp contacts 9, and thus break the circuit throughout the system, Iprovide the following means. Adjacent one end of the blade between acontact 9 and a contact 10, the plate 2 is provided with a projection 19on which is secured a plate 20 having two beveled faces 21 which mergeinto a ridge where there is located an antifriction roller 22 journaledin said plate 20, and located at a point midway between the contacts 9and 10. The blade 6 is hollow and has mounted therein a plunger 23 whichis pressed outwardly by a coil spring 24 located within the blade 6 andbearing against the inner end of the said plunger. The outer end of theplunger is provided with an antifriction roller 25 which rolls on thebeveled faces 21 of plate 20. It is apparent that kwhen the handle 26 onthe lower end of shaft 3 is turned so that the roller 25 is locatedslightly to one side of the roller ridge 22, the spring 24, acting onplunger 23, will cause the switch blade to be quickly moved to itsextreme position on the same side of the ridge 22. ln this manner it isimpossible to maintain the switch blade at an intermediate position, andowing to the quick movement of' the blade, little or no sparking takesplace.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is

1. The combination with the line wire contacts and the lamp contacts, ofa portion extending from each line wire contact over the other line wirecontact and one of the lamp contacts, a switch blade movable to connectthe line wire contacts or to connect each line wire contact with a lampcontact and means for supporting said elements.

2. The combination with the line wire con tacts and the lamp contacts,of a portion extending from each line wire contact over the other linewire contact and one of the lamp contacts, a switch blade having a pairof contacts insulated from each other and movable to connect the linewire contacts or to connect each line wire contact with a lamp con# tactand means for supporting said elements.

3. The combination with the line wire contacts and the lamp contacts, ofa portion extending from each line wire contact over the other line wirecontact and one of the lamp contacts, a switch blade operable about theaxis intermediate its ends, and having a pair of contacts, one at eachend, insulated from each other and each movable between the overhangingportion of one line wire contact and the other line wire contact, orbetween the overhanging portion and one of the lamp contacts and meansfor supporting said elements.

4. The combination with the line wire contacts and the lamp contacts, ofa curved portion extending from each line wire contact over the otherline wire contact and one of the lamp contacts, a switch blade having apair of contacts, one at each end, insulated from each other and eachmovable between the overhanging portion of one line wire contact and theother line wire contact, or between the overhanging portion and one ofthe lamp contacts, means preventing the maintaining of the switch bladein an intermediate position and means for supporting said elements.

5. The combination with the line wire contacts and the lamp contacts, ofan upwardly curved portion extending from each line wire contact overthe other line wire contact and one of the lamp contacts, a switch blademov able to connect the line wire contacts or to connect each line wirecontact with a lamp contact, the curved portion having a slitted partand means for supporting said elements.

6. The combination with the line wire contacts and the lamp contacts, ofa curved portion extending from each line .wire contact over the otherline wire contact and one of the lamp contacts, and a switch blademovable to connect the line wire contacts or to con nect each line wirecontact with a lamp contact, means arranged to exert pressure upon eachcurved portion and means for supporting said elements.

7. The combination with the line wire contacts and the lamp contacts,ol' a curved portion extending from each line wire contact over theother line wire contact and one of the lamp contacts, a switch blademovable to connect the line wire contacts or to connect each line wirecontact with a lamp contact, a spring carried by each curif'ed portionto exert downward pressure upon the latter and means for supporting saidelements.

8. The combination with the line wire contacts and the lamp contacts, ofa portion extending from each line wire contact over the other line wirecontact and one of the lamp contacts, means movable to connect the linewire contacts or to connect each line wire contact with a lamp contact,said portion having slitted parts, means having connection with each ofsaid portions to exert a downward pressure upon them and means forsupporting said elements.

In testimony whereof l affix my signature, in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

GEORGE CUTTER.

Witnesses:

GEORGE OLTsoH, G. M. COLE.

